How do railroad couplers work

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Couplers, like these on a New York tourist railroad, are a critical link in railroading. How does a train work? How does a tram operate without overhead wires? How does a metro work without a driver? How do you operate a train without an external electricity supply? Why do you sometimes see sparks on the catenaries? How do trains cross borders? Quiz and games. Dictionary - Learn the keywords of rail.

In , when the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific Railroads were breaking ground, the most common coupler in use was the " link-and-pin " "Lincoln pin". This was a simple, elongated iron loop that was fitted into an opening at the end of each car's drawbar.

The loop was anchored in place by an iron pin dropped through a socket in the top of the drawbar. The pin passed through the link and through another socket in the bottom of the drawbar. The link-and-pin construction was inexpensive to manufacture, making it the predominant coupler in use until the s. However, the link-and-pin, as well as other early railroad couplers, had disadvantages that became more problematic with the expansion of railroad systems, the increase in locomotive power, and train length.

Excessive slack between cars ensured a jarring, uncomfortable ride that could harm passengers and cargo when a loosely-coupled train pulled out of a dead stop and each car started forward with a violent lurch. In , Ezra Miller successfully patented and marketed the first model of his coupling device that became known as the "Miller Hook" or "Miller Platform.

Because of its high cost, the Miller Platform was used on passenger trains, while freight trains continued to use the link-and-pin couplers. Plan view of Ezra Miller's coupler as applied to the bottom of adjoining rail cars.

The link-and-pin was also slow and inefficient to operate, requiring a worker to stand between the cars and effect every coupling and uncoupling. The switchman, also called " brakeman ," who worked in the yard with the link-and-pin coupler had a dangerous job. Crushing accidents were common. Mangled hands and missing fingers were the badge of the experienced worker.

Standing between cars as they were being pushed together and holding the iron link up to guide it into place, working around the "dead wood" buffers that kept the cars from telescoping together, the switchman would only need a moment of lapsed attentiveness to lose a finger, a hand, or his life. In , Eli Janney , a shop clerk and skilled whittler, patented his first coupler design. He whittled a wooden model of his " knuckle" coupler and commissioned a draftsman to make a drawing of it for his patent application.

With a few subsequent revisions, Janney's coupler , which resembles two hands with fingertips hooked together, solved more than the safety problem.